Gwangju: A Hub City of Asian Culture and high-tech industry

Abstract

Gwangju is a metropolitan city located in the southwest of the Republic of Korea. The city was relatively socio-economically underdeveloped compared to other major Korean cities, particularly cities in the capital region and the southeast, until the 1980s. The central government’s former efficiency-oriented economic development policies, which focused on specific strategic locations in Korea, account for this underdevelopment. From the 1990s onward, Gwangju promoted its economic growth by constructing industrial complexes and establishing photonics and optical industries. Although the city has achieved some significant results in creating high-tech industries, Gwangju has the potential for further development. This is supported by the fact that since 2004, Gwangju, jointly with the central government, has begun an urban development project, the Hub City of Asian Culture Gwangju Project, to transform the city into an international city of arts and culture. The project represents more geographically balanced policy on the part of central government, as well as local government incentive to find urban regeneration strategies so the central city will be capable of thriving in the post industrial world. However, there are conflicts related to this project, particularly as regards the construction of the Asian Culture Complex (ACC). The success of the project will be dependent upon the construction of the ACC, which will be the most important facility.